Fancy frills

This is most definitely a move away from my usual style of card and, to be honest, not something I'll probably repeat too often! I recently ordered 2 crafters companion die'sire embossing and cutting dies which is the first time I've bought such an item. I haven't had much time to play yet but it was perfect for the current Graph'It challenge entitled 'frills & fancy'. It can be good to take on a challenge and try something new but you won't see many cards like this on my blog! (I'm also not sure how the camera has made the central heart look pink as it's exactly the same card as the surround but...)

It was a pretty simple card to make with the die doing most of the work!

I took a piece of A4 pearlescent card and placed the die carefully at the top of what would become the front. I used my Grand Callibur to both cut and emboss the design onto the card. I then cut a piece of lace to slightly wider than the card and attached it to the back of a length of ribbon (with a heart buckle already placed) using double sided tape. I overlapped the lace to create the ruched effect and then attached the 'skirt' to the card with more double sided tape.

To create the hanging heart, I took the die cut heart and attached a small loop of invisible thread to it. I then placed a pearl onto the top of the heart aperture and used this as the hook for the heart to hang from. It is a very pretty card and I'm sure lots of people will like it, it's just a big departure for me!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Graph'It 'frills & fancy' 13/6
Creative Inspirations 'anything goes' 10/6
Crafty Catz 'inspired by a song' 12/6- 'hanging onto your love' by Take That
Crafty Calendar 'petals and pearls' 4/7
Totally Gorjuss 'embossing' 14/6

winter cheer

Here's another SWALK card made using the digi stamps from the Crafters Companion cd-rom. I coloured this one a while ago so the hair isn't quite as good as it could be but I'm really happy with how the card turned out. Considering I coloured the image a while ago, it all matches really well.

I coloured the digi image with Spectrum Noirs & Promarkers and highlighted aspects such as the bow on the basket with stickles and the pearl necklace with perfect pearls. I used a Kanban mat as a stencil to cut the topper into an unusual shape and then added a pre-cut gold mirror card mat. The backing paper is from a new Papermania 6x6 paper pack and the tartan pattern matched perfectly so I just trimmed it down slightly and matted it onto a 6x6 card blank. I attached the topper and then used another paper sheet from the same 6x6 pad to cut out the poinsettia, stars & holly images that I decoupaged onto the card. I used a little more stickles and perfect pearls to add a highlight, including the freehand squiggles at the bottom.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creative Inspirations 'traditional christmas colours'
Creative Card Crew 'holly or poinsettia'
Songbird Challenges 'merry christmas'
Stampin' for the Weekend 'red'
Totally Gorjuss 'special Christmas'

pretty in pastel pink

I was recently lucky enough to win 4 Saturated Canary digi-stamps as part of a blog hop. This is the first card I have made using the beautiful 'Double Take' image- if you love it as much as I do then you can find it here.

I started by colouring the 'double take' image using spectrum noirs for her skin and promarkers for her dress & hair. I couldn't decide whether to make her a blonde or a brunette so I ended up going pink instead! I trimmed the image and then mounted it onto a pale pink cardstock from a 12x12 'Sweet Owl' pad by First Edition. I then used another paper from the same 12x12 pad and mounted it onto an 8x8 square card. I attached the topper onto the top right corner of the card and then put the pearl swirl in the bottom left corner. I made this by drawing a swirl onto the card using a stencil and then attching individual Anita's mini-pearls using a quickie glue pen.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Saturated Canary 'pretty pastels'

Crafty Catz 'swirls & pearls'

Catch the Bug 'recipe challenge- cardstock & bling'

Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

Songbird Challenge Blog 'Five Colours In Her Hair!'